Sales of chemical hair relaxers are increasing in Africa

Many chemical hair straighteners contain ingredients reminiscent of formaldehyde, bisphenol A and parabens, which have been linked to cancer.

In a 2023 report published by the National Institutes of Health, researchers found that girls who use chemical relaxing agents at the very least 4 times a yr are twice as prone to develop uterine cancer as those that don’t. Both treesground Canada imposed restrictions on the formaldehyde content of leisure agents. US Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban chemicals last yr.

Just a few Black women do filed lawsuits against corporations claiming that their hair care products cause cancer. One class motion lawsuit alleged that corporations sold leisure products that “posed an increased risk of uterine and ovarian cancer, but also lacked sufficient warning about this potential risk.”

As awareness of the risks of hair relaxers has increased, the use of these products has declined in the United States, Canada, and Europe. However, in response to research firm Euromonitor, sales of chemical leisure agents have increased significantly in some African countries. Sales in Tunisia and Kenya increased by 10% from 2017 to 2023.

Seyi Faladun-Liburd is co-director Level up in the UK, a feminist organization fighting for gender justice in the UK. Fallud-Liburd claims that corporations expanding to Africa are problematic because they are capable of bypass some regulations in the US, Canada and Europe.

“This means that almost all consumers are most definitely unaware of the results of these hair relaxers. “We don’t expect them to put us in harm’s way for profit.” Fallud-Liburd he said NBC News.

Both L’Oreal and Godrej Consumer Products, the corporate that owns TCB Naturals, have expanded into Africa after being hit by lawsuits in the United States.

In a press release to NBC News, L’Oreal argued that the lawsuits had no “legal or scientific” basis and had no impact on the corporate’s presence in Africa.

According to Sokolove law, over 8 thousand hair relaxer lawsuits have been submitted against L’Oreal USA and other corporations.